ARTiST: Black Francis
TiTLE: Bluefinger
LABEL: Cooking Vinyl
GENRE: Rock
TiME: 39:30 min
SiZE: 56,8 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Aug-31-2007
RELEASE DATE: Sep-03-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Captain Pasty 02:25
02. Threshold Apprehension 05:15
03. Test Pilot Blues 02:57
04. Lolita 03:02
05. Tight Black Rubber 04:19
06. Angels Come To Comfort You 04:28
07. Your Mouth Into Mine 03:43
08. Discotheque 36 04:42
09. You CanÆt Break A Heart And Have It 02:38
10. She Took All The Money 02:32
11. Blue Finger 03:29
Release Notes:
The Pixies' iconic lead singer Frank Black dons his
decades-old moniker - Black Francis - and, imbued by
the spirit of eccentric Dutch painter/musician
Herman Brood, recorded a brand new set of 11 songs,
collectively titled "Bluefinger".
"I privately went back to the old stage name, if
that even makes any sense, almost as a joke,
explains Black Francis. "I couldnÆt get The Pixies
back into a studio, but I would transform into my
alter ego of yesteryear. I spoke the magic syllables
aloud and nothing happened; just as I thought. Soon
after, my new manager asked me for a bonus track for
a ôbest ofö compilation to be released later in the
year. And as I prepared for the session, I became
(honestly) gripped by the spirit of Herman Brood,
and my bonus track expanded into an 11 song record
called BLUEFINGER in just a few days. Thank you
Herman. You were at the distant edge of my vision
for years when suddenly I was under your influence
like a cloud of opium, like the scent of the house
of the rising sun. Bliss. Bliss. Bliss. I had spoken
the magical name and nothing had happened, but I was
impatient, and like so many people, I thought the
magic would reveal itself in an instant, as depicted
in films. Magic is more subtle. And Herman Brood did
turn me back into BLACK FRANCIS. Funny how things
work out. You just never know."
Directly or indirectly, all 11 songs reference
Brood, known as the "Dutch personification of 'sex,
drugs and rock 'n' roll.'" Brood was a rock musician
going back to the 1960s, and he and his band, Herman
Brood and His Wild Romance, experienced success in
Europe, and even scored a top 40 hit in the U.S.A.
in 1979 with "Saturday Night." He was outspoken and
in the public eye for decades, in part due to his
relationship with the German artist, Nina Hagen. His
art has been exhibited at galleries and at the
Museum of Groningen in Amsterdam, and he created
murals - considered by many to be valuable
contributions to Dutch culture and art - in various
public spaces around that city. A hard drug user for
many years, he swore off most drugs later in his
life, but the damage had been done. In 2001, he was
told he had only a few months to live, and later
that year, committed suicide at aged 54 by jumping
off the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.
"John Lennon and Yoko Ono claimed the Amsterdam
Hilton in 1969," Francis continues. "The Pixies
headlined their first big rock show in Holland in
1988. Herman Brood reclaimed the Hilton for his
country in 2001, and now I feel he has even claimed
back The Pixies, or at least me, BLACK FRANCIS."
Black Francis recorded "Bluefinger" in September
2006 in Portland, OR. Appearing on guitars,
harmonica and vocals, Francis was joined in the
studio by drummer Jason Carter (Guards of
Metropolis), Violet Clarke on vocals, and bassist
Dan Schmid (The Visible Men). Mark Lemhouse produced
the album.
"Bluefinger" showcases a Herman Brood cover - "You
Can't Break a Heart and Have It," and ten Black
Francis originals: "Captain Pasty," "Test Pilot
Blues," "Lolita," "Tight Black Rubber," "Angels Come
to Comfort You," "Your Mouth Into Mine,"
"Discotheque 36," "She Took All the Money," "Blue
Finger," and "Threshold Apprehension," which is a
bonus track on Frank Black's "93-03" "best of"
album, due out Monday 18th June.
As Black Francis, Boston and Los Angeles-bred Black
was one of the architects of modern rock as front
man of the Pixies, whose "loud-quiet-loud" dynamics,
primal scream intensity and free-ranging
compositional style exerted a huge influence on
alternative music. His solo recordings as Frank
Black demonstrated his artistic restlessness,
embracing alternative pop and avant-garde rock with
equal fervor; he continued exploring this territory
with a new band, The Catholics, for several years
before journeying to Nashville to create two
critically-acclaimed albums with producer Jon Tiven
- 2005's "Honeycomb" and the more intense, upbeat
"Fast Man Raider Man" in 2006.